Review of Shiki

Spoiler warning: I will speak on certain spoilers about the story, so therefore I would recommend you to watch the show before you read this review. I also would like to encourage the reader to not blindly follow my or anyone else their opinions. I believe that my opinion is neither correct nor incorrect. I apologise in advance for any grammar or vocabulary mistakes as English is not my native language I will divide this review in several parts: an introduction, a central part talking about the story, art, sound, etc. I will finish with an overall conclusion with the essentials, so if you do notwant to read this completely, I advise to read the conclusion.

Let us start with an overall introduction on Shiki. Shiki is in my honest opinion a psychological thriller. It asks its viewers to form their own opinion about a rather sensitive topic namely death. It also focuses on other topics such as the culture in small areas and religion but on smaller scale. I would not see how this falls under the category of a horror as this anime does not try to scare you, although one could argue about this since there are some disturbing scenes. For example, the scene where Doctor Ozaki decides to ‘research’ his wife Kyouko. Overall, I would not recommend this show to anyone below the age of 16 as the show does ask its viewers to put some thought into it.

My first paragraph is about the sound as I personally feel this was one of the least important elements to the show. I would like to start with the openings and the endings. I have to say these were rather boring to me. They did not put me in any mood nor did I enjoy them. The sound during the episodes rather was a lot more fitting and did succeed in creating a mysterious yet dark mood around this series. A soundtrack can make or break a show but with Shiki it was more a helpful addition to the overall story of the show.

Secondly, I will discuss the art. The art in this show was rather bad to the point where I believe this was the worst part about the show. I like to compare art to movies of Studio Ghibli as these movies have one the best art styles even to this day. In Shiki characters look a bit ‘triangular’ as that is the best way for me to describe them. Overall, I would just say that there are no aesthetic-pleasing moments in the show.

Further we have the story. The story itself is easy to understand. A vampire family decides to take over a while a small village by sucking the blood of the villagers. Eventually their plan seems to work out until the villagers discover the truth and decide to slaughter the ‘Risen’. The story for me is therefore a setting for the villagers to develop and give meaning to themselves.

With that being said I arrive at the part where this anime truly shines: the characters. In my opinion doctor Ozaki and Murio are the best examples of characters that have their own believes. On the one side we have Doctor Ozaki who is a good person at heart and has a strong sense of justice. He truly feels bad for everyone that dies in the city and deals with it in his own way. He becomes obsessed and cold-hearted with a single goal: stop the rising death toll in the village. In the centre of this show he therefore believes that the ‘Risen’ should be exterminated at any cost. He goes far in his believes but when the slaughter on the ‘Risen’ happens, he does show some hesitation towards traitors (people that got bitten). Murio on the other hand views the story differently. He cares more about the individual such as himself and Sunako. He also does care about Doctor Ozaki but because of their difference in opinions this bond fades away. Murio accepts any ‘creature’ and has a strong desire for a free will. The prime example is when he decides to join Sunako and abandons the humans as he does not believe with what they do is correct. Trough the story we get to see all kinds of characters with their opinions, which I would like to discuss but that would make this review too long (as it already seems to be). If there are any characters I would recommend you to think about, it is Ookawa Tomio and Tanaka Kaori as they a develop a form of insanity near the end. Ask yourself why did this happen to them.

To conclude, Shiki is a story that’s sets a mysterious tone for its characters to develop their own opinions about how they should deal with death in small village. A doctor with a strong sense of justice goes all his way out to protect humans while a monk who desires a free will joins with the ‘wrong side’. Death is in fact a cruel thing and one must ask himself “what impact does death have and can it be accepted in any form?” Is it okay for the ‘Risen’ to suck blood out humans to survive (compare this to humans who eat meat) and is it okay for humans to destroy their hunters (can we live in society with vampires by donations of blood?). If you would like to know the answer think about it yourself as it develops your opinion. These were my examples to indicate why I believe this show is a thriller that asks its viewers to think. Overall, I do recommend it based on the moral aspect. The show had some obvious flaws such as the fire at end and therefore they way it ended but nonetheless this show is a must watch for any interested in psychological shows.

I would like to thank anyone who read this, if you have any feedback please send them to me, I appreciate it.